Autograph, which facilitates partnerships with sports and entertainment icons to usher in a new era of digital collecting, on Friday said Usain Bolt is the latest addition to its Advisory Board.
Bolt, often referred to as The World’s Fastest Man for holding the world records in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and as part of the Jamaican 4 x 100 meter relay team, will make his first collection of NFTs available exclusively to view on Autograph.io and for purchase on DraftKings Marketplace, by DraftKings, Inc., as the latest installment of the Preseason Access Collection.
The sprinter joins a roster of iconic sports heroes who already have joined the Autograph Advisory Board, including Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Derek Jeter, Tony Hawk, Wayne Gretzky and Tiger Woods.
DraftKings said in a statement as part of the Preseason Access Collection, fans and new NFT collectors will be able to purchase digital collectibles at a “range of accessible prices.”
Premier editions of Usain Bolt NFTs will drop throughout the day on October 5, followed by Signature editions, with authentic digital signatures from the sprinter, set to drop October 7.
According to the company, each owner of a Preseason Access Pass, regardless of edition, will be granted preferential access to a future drop from Autograph on DraftKings Marketplace.
“We are honored to partner with Olympic legend Usain Bolt and drop his first ever NFT collection,” Dillon Rosenblatt, CEO and co-founder of Autograph, said in a statement. “Autograph is committed to celebrating the careers and achievements of our content partners, and we now will be able to provide our community with an exclusive opportunity to become a part of Bolt’s story through our NFTs.”
Added Bolt: “Now that I have retired from running professionally, I have decided to take my hunger for competition to the next level in a growing space and get involved with NFTs and Autograph. I am honored to join Autograph as they continue to add legendary athletes to the team and provide a platform that uniquely connects me with both my fans as well as new communities.”
Autograph was co-founded by Tom Brady and is headquartered in Los Angeles.
DraftKings is a digital sports entertainment and gaming company headquartered in Boston. It was launched in 2012 by Jason Robins, Matt Kalish and Paul Liberman, and today is a vertically integrated sports betting operator and multi-channel provider of sports betting and gaming technologies for operators in 17 countries. DraftKings' Sportsbook is live with mobile and/or retail betting operations in the United States pursuant to regulations in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
DraftKings' daily fantasy sports product is available in seven countries internationally with 15 distinct sports categories. DraftKings is the official daily fantasy partner of the NFL, MLB, NASCAR, PGA Tour and UFC, as well as an authorized gaming operator of the NBA and MLB, an official sports betting partner of the NFL, an official betting operator of PGA Tour and the official betting operator of UFC.
Launched in August 2021, DraftKings Marketplace is a digital collectibles ecosystem designed for mainstream accessibility that offers curated NFT drops and supports secondary-market transactions.
DraftKings also owns Vegas Sports Information Network, Inc. (VSiN), a multi-platform broadcast and content company.
